Belmont-Redwood Shores and San Carlos school communities dissatisfied with campus return plans

In the Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary School District, some took issue with administrators appointing students to schedules allowing them some time in the classroom while others remained in online learning arrangements.

The tentative appointments raised the hackles of some families who in a fall survey had requested to return to the classroom with their preferred teacher, but were left with the sole option of remote learning.

“It’s a mess,” said Shannon Guzzetta, parent of a kindergartner in the district.

Dozens more parents expressed similar sentiments in emails and comments to officials during a recent district meeting when reopening plans were discussed. The meeting lasted five hours and featured a series of frustrated parents attempting to persuade officials to consider alternatives.

“I’m very, very disappointed in this district,” said Jennifer Blum during the meeting.

School board President Amy Koo acknowledged the disappointment shared by parents but committed to continuing working on the issue to assure an in-person education will be available to as many families as possible.

“We heard the concerns are we are trying to update the assignments,” said Koo.

As part of that initiative, Koo said principals at each school site have been communicating with each family that did not receive its preferred assignment to look for ways to accommodate their wishes.

Superintendent Dan Deguara agreed, estimating as many as 75% of families received the instruction method requested in the survey while remaining optimistic that figure could rise in the coming weeks.

As part of that effort, Koo admitted it will likely be easier for the district to meet the needs of those with elementary students because class schedules are more flexible in earlier grades than middle school.

Koo also agreed the district could have been more communicative in working with its school community on the assignment process and that some concerns may have been avoided if it was made clearer that initial appointments were only tentative.

“We probably could have provided more context. But lesson learned right? Communication is everything,” she said.

Community frustrations with reopening in the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District have lingered for weeks. Last month, a deal between teachers and administrators to reopen classrooms once San Mateo County reached the orange tier, or in the red tier with teacher vaccination, roiled parents who felt the process was evolving too slowly.

Since then, Deguara said many district teachers have been vaccinated and he expects that amount to rise to nearly all the district staff by next fall. Assuming health conditions improve and vaccinations become more common, he said the district is aiming to open to the greatest extent possible in the fall.

Such a commitment addressed fears raised by Guzzetta, who expressed concerns regarding the availability of in-person learning at the start of the next year while claiming the opacity of the district’s approach drove much of the school community’s frustration.

“The uncertainty is driving everyone crazy,” she said.

In the San Carlos Elementary School District, school community members shared similar frustrations with comments from officials regarding obstacles that must be overcome before more students can be allowed back into the classroom.

Parent Justin Lewis is underwhelmed with the district's plan to build from the three hours of in-person instruction currently offered each week to 10 weekly hours, and joined a group of several hundred others who are pressing officials to allow for more time on campus. 

According to district officials, a fuller reopening is partially constrained by school classrooms that don’t offer adequate space under social distancing guidelines handed down from the county to safely invite back students.

Citing other scientific studies suggesting fewer than 6 feet of separation is suitable for young students, Lewis has raised his concerns to district officials who pointed to other governmental agencies in defending their approach. The response left Lewis disappointed in San Carlos administrators.

“The whole point of local government is to have local accountability and it feels like everyone just pushes it up a level,” said Lewis.

For his part, board President Neil Layton claimed the district is limited by the county’s guidance on social distancing but said officials are working as hard as they can to get as many students back to campuses as soon as possible.

“As a small district where many of our principals, teachers and staff are asked to wear so many hats, we want to make sure we can operationally succeed at reopening our schools,” he said in an email. “That is the main reason we staggered our reopening plan. As we acclimate to reopening we will continue to find ways to maximize students’ time on campus. “

Looking ahead, San Carlos school community members harbor concerns that the challenges with reopening will span into next year as well.

“There is no certainty that full-time school will resume in the fall. Distance learning does not provide an adequate education and kids can’t afford to lose any more time,” said Patty Heilman in an email.

But Layton shared his hope that with continually improving health conditions, campuses will be open to a much greater extent in the fall — assuming the county’s blessing.

“I can only assure we will do the most we can to maximize in-person instruction next year, within the limits and requirements determined by the county,” he said in an email. “I am hopeful the rules will be lifted to allow all students full time on campus, not just for our district, but for every district in the county,” he said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

Note to readers: this article has been amended to accurately reflect Justin Lewis' perspective regarding the amount of time students spend on campus.